Lester GrahamNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Lester Graham splits his time between hosting Stateside (Fridays) and reporting for the Detroit Journalism Cooperative (DJC). He was formerly the Senior Editor of The Environment Report, the environmental news service based at Michigan Radio, starting with the service in 1998. He has been a journalist since 1985. Graham has served as a board member of the Public Radio News Directors Inc., and also served as President of the Illinois News Broadcasters Association. He is a member of the Radio-Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), Society of Professional Journalists and other professional groups. Lester has received more than 100 awards at the state, regional, national and international levels for journalistic excellence, including four RTDNA Edward R. Murrow awards, two of them at the network level. Twitter: @MichiganWatch Facebook link email: llgraham@umich.eduNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Lester GrahamSat, 17 Mar 2018 07:48:21 +0000Lester Grahamhttp://michiganradio.org
Lester GrahamSwilling and spilling green beer is part of the Saint Patrick’s Day tradition for some folks. There is an alternative if you prefer something other than a cheap lager with green dye. It’s a cocktail named the Tipperary after the town and county in Ireland. “It does have one green ingredient in it,” Tammy Coxen of Tammy’s Tastings quipped, adding “…the drink itself is not green.” That green ingredient is Green Chartreuse , a French liqueur made by the Carthusian Monks. So, how does a French liqueur end up in an Irish cocktail? Usually it’s mixed with an Irish whiskey. “Obviously we don’t have Irish whiskey in Michigan either, but Long Road Distillers a couple of years ago…made a malt whiskey and they made that malt whiskey in the style of an Irish whiskey,” Coxen explained. It’s hard to find. Malt whiskey is made from malted barley as opposed to rye whiskey which is made mostly from rye and bourbon whiskey which is made mostly from corn. Scotch whisky is made from all malted barley.Cheers! A cocktail for Saint Patrick's Dayhttp://michiganradio.org/post/cheers-cocktail-saint-patricks-day
35043 as http://michiganradio.orgFri, 16 Mar 2018 18:26:19 +0000Cheers! A cocktail for Saint Patrick's DayLester GrahamThe Democrats running for state Attorney General represent two wings of the party. Dana Nessel is a self-described progressive. Pat Miles is more centrist, but he’s shifted some of his positions on issues as he’s talked to Democrats across the state. We asked each of the candidates about asset forfeiture. Civil asset forfeiture allows law enforcement to seize property when police think it was bought with illegally gotten money such as drug money. But, even if those people are not convicted or even charged with a crime, they have to fight in court to get their assets back.Dem candidates for AG on civil asset forfeiturehttp://michiganradio.org/post/dem-candidates-ag-civil-asset-forfeiture
35025 as http://michiganradio.orgFri, 16 Mar 2018 10:00:00 +0000Dem candidates for AG on civil asset forfeitureLester Graham“I was listening to your great piece from a couple of weeks ago about Brewed in Michigan ,” Tammy Coxen of Tammy’s Tastings said about a recent interview with author William Rapai on Stateside . (You can hear the interview conducted at Arbor Brewing Company here .) Coxen said it got her to thinking about beer cocktails and one of her favorite Michigan beers, Founders Porter . The Founders website describes it as, “…silky black with a creamy tan head. The nose is sweet with strong chocolate and caramel malt presence. No absence of hops gives Founders’ robust porter the full flavor…” and is one of the brewery’s popular offerings. “We’re pairing that up with a rum. But, it’s a rum that came to us, sort of, by virtue of beer,” Coxen said. The New Holland brewery expanded in 2005 into spirits. One of the products is the Freshwater Michigan Rum . It’s described as a barrel aged rum which is a “…rich, smooth marriage of molasses and oak,” by the company. Coxen said New Holland is only agingCheers! Michigan rum and Michigan beer combine to make a wonderful winter cocktailhttp://michiganradio.org/post/cheers-michigan-rum-and-michigan-beer-combine-make-wonderful-winter-cocktail
34856 as http://michiganradio.orgFri, 02 Mar 2018 19:00:00 +0000Cheers! Michigan rum and Michigan beer combine to make a wonderful winter cocktailLester GrahamIt’s Black History Month and the Cheers! team of Tammy Coxen and Lester Graham have a cocktail recipe used by America’s first celebrity bartender, Cato Alexander. “I wanted to make sure that we gave a shout out to some of the amazing black bartenders who have worked in the past and in the present,” Coxen of Tammy’s Tastings said.Cheers! America's first black celebrity mixologisthttp://michiganradio.org/post/cheers-americas-first-black-celebrity-mixologist
34785 as http://michiganradio.orgFri, 23 Feb 2018 19:30:00 +0000Cheers! America's first black celebrity mixologistLester GrahamThe economy is booming and the unemployment rates for the nation and Michigan are low. In Detroit, the official rate has fallen dramatically since peaking at more than 28% in 2009. But the rate that’s often cited only tells part of the story.Detroit's true unemployment ratehttp://michiganradio.org/post/detroits-true-unemployment-rate
34653 as http://michiganradio.orgFri, 16 Feb 2018 11:00:00 +0000Detroit's true unemployment rateLester GrahamIf you spend much time in Detroit at all, you’ve likely seen this guy’s work. Jordan Zielke is a sign painter with Motown Sign Company . But he didn’t start out doing that. He went to school for fine art. He left that behind and hasn’t looked back. “I feel great about it,” he said, laughing. Zielke said he had a hard time finding meaning and purpose in fine art. But, in commercial art and sign painting in particular, the purpose is clear and the rules are definite. “It’s meant to convey and idea or an image. And, with lettering and signs there’s a right way and there’s a wrong way to do it. I felt with art in some regards there is no wrong way,” he explained. Zielke also likes the variety of the work. Some of it’s mundane. Some of it is spectacular. “One day you’re lying on your back lettering ‘NO PARKING’ on a roll-up garage door. Another day you’re 14 stories in the air painting a mural that’s 200 feet tall,” he said. That mural is on the 28Grand building in Detroit’s Capitol Park.Artisans of Michigan: Motown Sign Companyhttp://michiganradio.org/post/artisans-michigan-motown-sign-company
34602 as http://michiganradio.orgFri, 09 Feb 2018 17:50:00 +0000Artisans of Michigan: Motown Sign CompanyLester GrahamGroundhog Day can go one of two ways. If that rodent sees his/her shadow, we’re in for six more weeks of winter. If not, spring will arrive early. We’ve got recipes using nearly the same ingredients to be prepared either way. “So depending on what happened with that darned groundhog, then we’ll know whether we need to drink another hot toddy to keep us warm for six more weeks of winter or whether we can start looking ahead to summer,” quipped Tammy Coxen of Tammy’s Tastings . As Tammy explained in a previous Cheers! segment , a hot toddy is a very flexible drink. Usually it’s whiskey, sugar or honey, lemon juice, and hot water or tea. But this hot toddy, the Saw His Shadow, hot toddy is very different. “Rather than using a traditional aged spirit like a whiskey, here I’m using gin. And it turns out that gin pairs really well with cinnamon,” Coxen said. She combined Detroit City Distillery Railroad Gin, cinnamon infused simple syrup, lemon juice, in a heat proof mug. Added hot water andCheers! Groundhog Day drink repeats itselfhttp://michiganradio.org/post/cheers-groundhog-day-drink-repeats-itself
34491 as http://michiganradio.orgFri, 02 Feb 2018 17:00:00 +0000Cheers! Groundhog Day drink repeats itselfLester GrahamWe’re downstairs at Elderly Instruments in Lansing. There’s a lot of talent inside these walls. (See a previous Artisans of Michigan from Elderly here .) “This place is like an incubator, really. You can bounce ideas off everybody. It’s pretty fertile ground in here and you get to see just the best examples of historic instruments and you get to see what the good stuff is,” Steve Olson said. Under his Cone Tone company, Olson has designed a resonator guitar which can be played acoustically or plugged in.Artisans of Michigan: building Cone Tone resonators http://michiganradio.org/post/artisans-michigan-building-cone-tone-resonators
34406 as http://michiganradio.orgFri, 26 Jan 2018 20:02:00 +0000Artisans of Michigan: building Cone Tone resonators Lester GrahamWhen you come in from the frigid temperatures we’ve been experiencing, mixing up an ice cold cocktail might not seem the best way to end the day. What you really want is something warm. Tammy Coxen of Tammy’s Tastings says that’s why we have the hot toddy.Cheers! A Michigan hot toddyhttp://michiganradio.org/post/cheers-michigan-hot-toddy
34287 as http://michiganradio.orgFri, 19 Jan 2018 19:00:00 +0000Cheers! A Michigan hot toddyLester GrahamOutside of Grand Ledge, at the end of a long driveway tucked away among the trees, we found a house and a large steel barn, the workshop of our latest featured artisan, Allen Deming of Mackinaw Watercraft . He’s been building monocoque strip built boats as a full-time pursuit for ten years. Monocoque strip built is basically a single hull canoe or a kayak or other vessel made from strips of wood glued together and then sealed with fiberglass and epoxy. “They have none of the problems that are inherent with wooden boats. So, if you grew up caulking your old Chris-Craft, or waxing and varnishing, or doing that sort of thing every year, that’s nonexistent here," Deming explained. The wood becomes a composite material with the fiberglass and epoxy. So, the wood never actually touches the water. The wood doesn't swell from moisture and the maintenance for the fiberglass encased wood boats is very low. "My boats range from a 12-foot kayak weighing 24 pounds to an 18-foot full four-passengerArtisans of Michigan: Kayaks and canoes evolve into arthttp://michiganradio.org/post/artisans-michigan-kayaks-and-canoes-evolve-art
34180 as http://michiganradio.orgFri, 12 Jan 2018 20:00:00 +0000Artisans of Michigan: Kayaks and canoes evolve into artLester GrahamWhen traveling out of state, people from Michigan often are asked, “Hey, how’s Detroit doing?” The largest municipal bankruptcy and the subsequent stories about Detroit’s revival have captured the curiosity of the rest of the nation and the world. Detroit’s successes in its business districts, downtown and Midtown, get most of the attention. Every billionaire’s acquisition, every refurbished building, every taxpayer assisted development have contributed to the conclusion that Detroit is America’s “Comeback City.” But, billionaire investments in skyscrapers, sports stadiums, and the opening of trendy stores and restaurants don’t tell you much about how the residents of the city are doing. If you want to know the real story of Detroit, you have to go to the neighborhoods. All this year Michigan Radio and the Detroit Journalism Cooperative have been visiting one neighborhood in Detroit to find out how it’s doing and reporting what that says about Detroit as a whole. This documentary isHow is Detroit Doing?http://michiganradio.org/post/how-detroit-doing
34030 as http://michiganradio.orgFri, 22 Dec 2017 20:00:48 +0000How is Detroit Doing?Lester GrahamYou don’t have to have a password, or pull a secret lever, or push a button for entry, but the Sidebar in Grand Rapids definitely has that speakeasy feel. The address is available: 80 Ottawa Avenue NW, but finding it is a little tricky. Hint: go down the steps toward the pizza place. That’s where Tammy Coxen of Tammy’s Tastings took me for a second time (see our other visit here ) to sample a craft cocktail. This time Duncan McCargar is mixing up a Resolute Sour. The cocktail uses two Michigan spirits, bourbon and gin from different Grand Rapids distillers. McCargar said the Sidebar crew got to spend some time sampling with the Long Road Distillers in Grand Rapids. “So, we sat down with them and we actually ended up picking up a whole barrel. So, we have our own sort of like Sidebar select single barrel of their bourbon, really great stuff,” he said. The other Michigan spirit comes from Gray Skies Distillery in Grand Rapids. It’s a Barrel Finished Hopped Gin which highlights Citra hopsCheers! Two Grand Rapids spirits in one cocktailhttp://michiganradio.org/post/cheers-two-grand-rapids-spirits-one-cocktail
33931 as http://michiganradio.orgFri, 15 Dec 2017 19:30:00 +0000Cheers! Two Grand Rapids spirits in one cocktailLester GrahamRacial divisions are a major contributor to the decline of Detroit. White flight started after World War II and continued. There was a late spike in flight from the city after 2000. That’s when City of Detroit employees no longer had to live in the city. That’s led to lost wealth, lost tax revenue, and blighted neighborhoods. Even when Detroit was majority white, racial lines were strictly drawn. “You can’t underestimate the intensity of that segregation in housing and the role that it played in dividing metropolitan Detroit by race,” said Thomas Sugrue. He is the author of the definitive book on why Detroit declined, The Origins of the Urban Crisis . “Large sections of Detroit were home to almost all African Americans and vice versa, large sections of the outlying neighborhoods in Detroit and the suburbs were nearly entirely white,” Sugrue said. For years some white firefighters and police violated a city ordinance requiring city employees to live in Detroit. Some even bragged aboutDetroit's last spike in white flighthttp://michiganradio.org/post/detroits-last-spike-white-flight
33891 as http://michiganradio.orgThu, 14 Dec 2017 13:20:59 +0000Detroit's last spike in white flightLester GrahamEarlier this year, Stateside traveled to Plymouth to visit Planet Marimba . That’s the workshop of Matt Kazmierski. It’s actually the garage at his home. When we arrived, he was working on a practice marimba which basically is a scaled back marimba with no resonator which makes it quieter. If you’re a college music student, getting into a studio to practice can be a challenge. But, if you’ve got a practice marimba, you can practice at home and not disturb the neighbors. The real trick to making a marimba is making wood bars that are in tune when you strike them. It’s not easy. “Every bar you make you kind of know what you’re getting into and sometimes they agree with you and sometimes you just have to keep on remaking bars and remaking bars,” he said. Kazmierski is working with organic material. It’s going to be a little imprecise because each piece of wood has its own character. As he gets closer to the size and shape he needs he strikes the wood and uses his ear and a scope to testArtisans of Michigan: Making marimbas http://michiganradio.org/post/artisans-michigan-making-marimbas
33847 as http://michiganradio.orgFri, 08 Dec 2017 19:16:32 +0000Artisans of Michigan: Making marimbas Lester Graham“It’s like Christmas in a glass,” said Tammy Coxen with Tammy’s Tastings . She’s talking about a cocktail invented by the principle bartender at The Last Word craft cocktail bar in Ann Arbor, Giancarlo Aversa.Cheers! A cocktail for the holidayshttp://michiganradio.org/post/cheers-cocktail-holidays
29219 as http://michiganradio.orgFri, 01 Dec 2017 20:04:09 +0000Cheers! A cocktail for the holidaysLester GrahamWhen we talked with Babacar Lo of the Wicker Shop , the weather was still warm and Lo was in his backyard in Detroit, working. Under a tent and surrounded by potted plants, he was repairing rattan and wicker furniture, a skill he first encountered in his home country of Senegal. “I did a little bit of weaving, making rattan and bamboo furniture in Africa just in my spare time,” Lo said. However, it wasn’t until he moved to the U.S. in the 1990s when he seriously took on the craft. He says he met a man in Hazel Park, Frank Henry, whose business was repairing wicker furniture. Lo worked with him in something like an apprenticeship. When Henry retired, Lo took over the business. We live in a throw away society. Lo says he used to see chairs put out on the street for trash pick up and he would take the good ones home, but there were just too many of them. He ran out of room in his house. A lot of those chairs are thrown away because repairing cane bottom chairs and other furniture is notArtisans of Michigan: repairing furniture in a throw-away societyhttp://michiganradio.org/post/artisans-michigan-repairing-furniture-throw-away-society
33619 as http://michiganradio.orgFri, 17 Nov 2017 20:00:00 +0000Artisans of Michigan: repairing furniture in a throw-away societyLester GrahamThe Cheers! team, Tammy Coxen of Tammy’s Tastings and Lester Graham, found a distiller serving up a cocktail with a spirit made with all Michigan ingredients. At Long Road Distillers’ upstairs bar, Adam Rodriguez is setting out the tools of the trade and the ingredients he using for today’s cocktail. Rodgriguez is Assistant Manager/Lead Bartender at the Grand Rapids distillery.The cocktail features a Long Road gin, MICHIGIN . The distiller released its second batch of the award-winning gin this month (November 2017). “Our MICHIGIN is all Michigan-based botanicals,” Rodriguez explained. “I’m used to gins that have things like lemon peel and those (lemons) don’t grow in Michigan. What did you guys use instead,” Coxen asked. “To emulate the lemon, we ended up working with local farms for lemon balm and lemon verbena. They’re both herbs that have a nice citrus body, they kind of emulate those flavors,” Rodriguez replied. Long Road sourced blueberries from a nearby farm, wild foraged forCheers! An all-Michigan gin with a Beaver Island connectionhttp://michiganradio.org/post/cheers-all-michigan-gin-beaver-island-connection
33520 as http://michiganradio.orgFri, 10 Nov 2017 20:00:00 +0000Cheers! An all-Michigan gin with a Beaver Island connectionDowntown Detroit is in the midst of a resurgence. However, business districts in the neighborhoods are not seeing the same successes. The decline in population and the decline in wealth in many neighborhoods is keeping much of the city in a prolonged economic downturn.MorningSide: A Detroit Neighborhoodhttp://michiganradio.org/post/morningside-detroit-neighborhood
33552 as http://michiganradio.orgFri, 10 Nov 2017 16:26:46 +0000MorningSide: A Detroit NeighborhoodLester GrahamDetroit has the highest auto insurance costs in the nation. Depending on the survey, it costs somewhere between seven thousand and ten thousand dollars a year.Auto insurance costs can vary wildly depending on which side of the street you livehttp://michiganradio.org/post/auto-insurance-costs-can-vary-wildly-depending-which-side-street-you-live
33485 as http://michiganradio.orgTue, 07 Nov 2017 12:00:00 +0000Auto insurance costs can vary wildly depending on which side of the street you liveLester GrahamWe travel the state to talk to people who make beautiful and useful things. We call the series “Artisans of Michigan.” We’re visiting with Ed Fedewa. He plays the bass in the Lansing Symphony Orchestra. He also plays in jazz ensembles and repairs bass instruments for players from all over. But that’s not why we’re at his house, we wanted to talk to him about the double bass he built.Artisans of Michigan: Building a basshttp://michiganradio.org/post/artisans-michigan-building-bass
33484 as http://michiganradio.orgMon, 06 Nov 2017 12:54:03 +0000Artisans of Michigan: Building a bass